Hello everyone! I hope you are having a peaceful holiday season!
Happy Reading!
><><
Irresponsible Cont.
><><
While the townsfolk were busy cheering for Lucius, Teyla managed to catch one of their attention and got them to cut her free. She went to John and freed him before turning towards McKay and Ronon. Lucius joyfully led the townspeople away towards the tavern while John moved to Kai. He crouched behind her and reached down to steady her hands as he cut the rope.
"You okay?" He asked in a low voice.
Kai glanced over her shoulder at him, her face pinched with annoyance. "What was that?" She demanded, rubbing her wrists to regain circulation.
John shrugged. "Wanted to see what the superhero would do, I suppose."
She grunted but didn't have anything else to say. She hated having to sit there and wait for Lucius of all people to rescue them. It wasn't typical of Sheppard to do so and even if he had wanted to see what Lucius could do, it was strange for him to risk the safety of everyone in the square. Lucius's presence had John more off balance than she thought.
Once they were all free, they found their gear dumped in an unceremonious pile nearby. John handed out the weapons, turning to Kai and holding out her two Blades last.
Kai sank her teeth into her lip to keep from looking at John - Colonel Sheppard - as she took them. Blades weren't magical, but there was significant meaning in the giving and taking of them. Taking them from him reminded her of when she had offered her first Blade to him back on the Wraith planet. It seemed like so long ago now, but it had been the first time she had trusted him implicitly.
She turned her back on him and began tucking them away. She trusted John with her safety. That had never come into question. Even when she disagreed with him, she knew she was safe with him. But physical safety wasn't the problem. Being around him like this was harder than it should have been. Back on Atlantis it was easy to remember what had happened between them, but in the field, things had always been so natural. They worked together well and the gentle, teasing banter was too easy to fall back into. There was just too much at stake. Kai tightened down the Bond another notch.
With his back to her, all Kai saw was the tightening of his shoulders. John flipped his sunglasses over his eyes to hide his expression when the pain in his chest flared as Kai closed herself off to him even more. He didn't know what he had done this time. He ground his teeth and checked his gun. He took a deep breath and turned back to the group once he was sure his tone could be light.
"Well, let's go see our friend," he said, but no one was fooled by his casual words. There was a tightness in his shoulders that belied his friendly tone.
As they entered the tavern they could hear him telling yet another story. John recognized this one too as the time they had taken over a hive using the retrovirus and the Queen had nearly killed them.
"And then, she jerked up and grabbed for my throat!"
The crowd gasped in horror.
"That was me," Kai grumbled half under her breath.
John glanced towards her. "Not so funny now is it?" He teased gently. He watched Kai's face carefully at his words. He knew she needed distance, knew she had asked him to respect her space, but she had been the one to volunteer to join his team off world. He wasn't about to treat her differently than he would any other member of his team. Seeing Lucius again had him on edge and having Kai pull away even further from his wasn't helping his temper.
"Hey, Colonel Sheppard come in! Sit down, sit!" Lucius exclaimed jovially when he spotted them. "Make way," he said waving his hands at the women gathered around him. "Let them have a seat."
"No, no, we have to go," Sheppard said, but the women cleared the area anyway.
Lucius looked crushed. "Are you sure? Because they are making a schnitzel for me tonight in honor of my victory."
John's jaw tightened as his temper flared but he managed to keep his voice steady. "No, we have to get back."
Lucius looked disappointed but when he met John's gaze there was a flash of cunning in his eyes. "Ah, well I guess the only thing left to do is for you to thank me then."
John went ramrod stiff. He had managed to play along and play it cool this whole time, but this was too far, too much. His eyes blazed dangerously as he met Lucius's gaze.
"What for?" Ronon demanded before Sheppard could say something he would regret.
"For saving your lives," Lucius said as though he really believed it.
John's jaw was like granite as he grit out the words. "Thank you."
The Bond was locked down as tight as Kai could make it, but even with a strangle hold on it she could feel the sharp prickles of the churning storm of John's anger at the edges of her consciousness. She didn't like being around Lucius either, and she would happily put him out of their misery, but John was handling it less well than she expected. John normally had a much better hold of his temper than this. She shifted her weight restlessly. She didn't like this one bit. The sooner they could get off this planet the better.
Lucius waved his hand. "It was nothing."
"It was nothing," John muttered half under his breath through gritted teeth.
"What do you mean it was nothing?" Lucius demanded. "Those people had you on your knees. Had your whole team on their knees, had Kai on her knees because you couldn't stop them," Lucius pressed pointing his finger at John's chest.
Kai could feel the beat of John's anger as it welled up through the Bond. Lucius was hitting on every one of John's buttons that he had aggravated during their previous encounter. John's ability to protect those he cared for was important to him.
"Yeah, they did," John agreed tightly, his words clipped and tight.
"Well, you're welcome," Lucius was all smug again and this time Kai wanted to lunge for him. He was purposefully baiting John, saying things he never would have dared without the shield to protect him. She liked even less that Lucius was trying to use her to do it.
Carson led the way out the door, doing his level best to keep the group moving before they attacked Lucius and faced the wrath of the town.
"You be careful on your way back to the gate," Lucius called after them. "There's talk of some angry raiders in the area!" he shouted.
John stiffened and whirled around to march back in to confront Lucius but Ronon caught his shoulder and spun him back around. "No, let's go," he said pulling John along with him by his vest.
John shook off Ronon's hands but complied. He took some deep breaths as he worked to get his temper back under control. It wasn't like him to be this close to the edge, but he hated Lucius. He hated what Lucius had done to them in the past when John hadn't been able to stop him, and he hated that he couldn't prove he was taking advantage of these people.
Kai and Ronon led the way down the path towards the stargate while John seethed behind them. The further away from Lucius and town, the calmer John seemed to get. They were half way to the gate when Ronon paused. He reached over and tapped Kai's shoulder. Kai turned and Ronon gestured to a small, barely obvious path that disappeared into the woods.
"Those are fresh tracks," Ronon said glancing over Kai to meet John's gaze.
"Well," John said with interest. "Let's go see if we can find ourselves some angry raiders."
Ronon led the way down the path. He was slightly crouched, watching the boot prints they were following. "At least ten," he said in a low tone, glancing over his shoulder to where Kai and Sheppard were following. "There could be more." Sheppard nodded and Ronon continued.
They made it another hundred yards into the woods when Kai reached forward and tapped Ronon on the shoulder. He paused and turned back to her. Kai reached up and touched her ear. She could hear the group close by.
John turned back to where Teyla stood with McKay and Carson. He gestured for them to crouch down and stay put while the three of them crept silently closer to the group of men ahead. This time Kai led.
They made it another fifty yards before Kai froze again, a frown on her face. She could hear them clearly now. She turned back to John and leaned into him with her mouth close to his ear so she wouldn't be overheard. It was unlikely they had someone with hearing as good as hers among their group, but she wasn't willing to take the chance.
She could feel John's warmth, and she had to rest a hand on his shoulder to steady herself in order to reach his ear. John noticed and crouched. "I hear Lucius," she said. She turned away from John, closing her eyes so she could focus on the quiet voices in the distance. After a beat she nodded and gestured for them to creep back towards the others.
Once they were far enough away Kai turned back to John. "He paid them," she told him. "They are mercenaries."
"Well," John said with a satisfied smirk. He loved the idea of finally being able to catch Lucius in the lie. "This changes everything, doesn't it."
><><
When they returned to the village a short time later they found the townsfolk gathered around Lucius. He was letting a little kid kick him, and making the shield light up and hum with energy. "Anybody else wanna take a crack at me?" he called excitedly. When he saw the team walk back into the square Lucius stopped. "Hey, I thought you guys left town, what are you doing back here?"he asked suspiciously.
"We were leaving," Sheppard said. "Then we ran into this gentleman, who has a very interesting story to tell," Sheppard said gesturing for a mercenary with an injuring arm to step out from behind the team.
Lucius's face went wide with shock. He swung back around to face the townsfolk. "Speaking of stories," he said trying desperately to distract them. "Did I ever tell you the story about the sexy scientist who fell in love with me when saved her people from a planet made entirely of lava!"
"That was me. And that's not how that happened," Sheppard huffed crossing his arms over his chest.
Teyla shot the Colonel an exasperated look. They needed to stay focused. "There's no point in pretending Lucius."
Ronon shifted his weight back and forth. "You lied to these people."
"This man's not a hero," Sheppard called loud enough to heard by all the townsfolk. "He paid those men to show up and make it look like he came to your rescue."
"It's true," the mercenary agreed. "It was all a set up to make it look like he saved the town."
"Deceiver!" a man called. The other townsfolk nodded in agreement.
"You do have every right to be upset with him," John agreed.
"Not him," the man said coming forward to stand beside Lucius. "You."
Sheppard pulled back in confusion. "Me?"
"Unable to accept the shame of surrendering to those raiders. He chooses to besmirch our Lucius!" the man cried, rallying the other towns people.
"The whole thing was an act, the guns weren't even loaded!" Sheppard argued.
"If it were not for Lucius you and your friends would all be dead!" The man called loudly.
"No, no, he tricked you, you don't know him like we do," Carson argued.
The angry townspeople were starting to get more and more worked up and several of them took threatening steps toward the team.
Kai rocked herself on the balls of her feet, prepared in case this went south. She wanted to see Lucius punished as well, but not at the risk of their own safety. The mob started to get more aggressive, hollering that they weren't welcome. Kai reached out and touched Sheppard's arm, warning him things were taking a turn. He glanced towards her but nodded. He knew things were turning south.
"Okay, okay!" Lucius called waving his hands as he stepped in between AR-1 and the townsfolk. "These are my friends! We have a history together. Let me talk to them," he said.
The crowd looked mutinous but they relented. "This way my friends," Lucius called and gestured towards a small house.
John glanced back at the crowd. They were calm for now, but it didn't look like it would take much to get them riled up again. He wanted to get his people out of here. The last thing he wanted was to go to Lucius's home. They weren't friends. The crowd shifted again and without a better idea, he followed after Lucius.
Lucius welcomed them all in and gestured for two beautiful women standing outside to come in as well. He laid back on a couch and the two women came in and began massaging his feet.
"Listen, I want to apologize for the whole angry mob thing," he said taking a grape off a tray of fresh fruit.
"I suppose we should be grateful," Teyla said, although she didn't sound like she believed it.
"Yes, well he did stop them from swarming us," McKay agreed.
"Just consider it my way of saying all is forgiven," Lucius said with a grin.
"You know what, I'm putting a stop to this!" John exclaimed. He had had enough.
"What, the foot massage?" Lucius asked, looking at the two women in bewilderment.
"I'm not talking about the foot massage..." John growled. Then he paused thoughtfully. "You know what, I am talking about the foot massage!" John exclaimed, his temper snapping away once more. He couldn't stand watching Lucius manipulate more women. Seeing the way he treated them just kept reminding him how he had acted while on Atlantis.
"All right, all right, girls, come back later," Lucius said, dismissing them.
"This ah, little scam of yours..." John started.
"Scam, what scam?" Lucius demanded.
"You are taking advantage of these people," Teyla argued.
Lucius shook his head. "I know it looks that way, but I was honest about that bunch of thugs that attacked this village a couple months ago. You know, this is a nice town, nice people, and they needed someone to save them. So I did. I was a hero!" he looked back and forth from Sheppard to Kai but they weren't giving an inch. "Now today's incident..."
"You mean performance," Kai corrected.
Lucius shrugged but didn't argue with her word choice. "It was just my way of reminding them of that fact. In fact, I insisted the guns not be loaded so nobody would get hurt. Then you had to go and figure it all out...how did you know anyway?" Lucius asked turning to Sheppard with a frown.
John arched a brow. "I'm not telling you so you can use it in another one of your stories. You're going out there right now and you're going to come clean to these people."
"Or else," Ronon growled.
"Or else, what?" Lucius demanded, puffing up his chest.
Ronon shoved himself to his feet.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah," Lucius said pointing to his shield. "You can't threaten me, on account of my shield, and they're not going to believe you."
Kai leaned forward, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You won't be wearing that shield forever," she growled.
"I said not threats," Lucius said, but there was a waver in his voice.
"I don't make threats," Kai said, her voice quietly menacing. "I make promises."
Lucius turned to John with wide eyes and a hint of respect in his voice. "She's a scary woman, you're braver than I thought."
Screaming and gunshots started up from outside. They all turned towards the windows. John turned on Lucius.
But Lucius held up his hands. "It's not me this time, I swear."
The gunshots continued. Kai leaned against the wall so she could look out the window without moving the curtain. "Genii," Kai reported, her hand dropping to rest near the handle of her Blade.
John stepped up to the door so he could see for himself. He recognized the uniforms immediately. It looked like there was a whole squad at least. He went cold as he saw who was leading them.
Kai sucked in a quiet breath as John's menacing anger rolled through the Bond. Kai's eyes flew to the man John had spotted.
"Kolya," John muttered his jaw tight. He pulled back and stalked over to the back window, looking out. "The soldiers are all Genii, they're part of a-"
Lucius waved his hand. "I know all about Kolya and the Genii. When I was on Atlantis I perused..."
"Mission reports, right. Well, you missed one incident that happened since," John snapped.
"This is very bad," Teyla muttered looking from the Colonel to Kai and back again. The two of them were not likely to respond very rationally to dealing with Koyla. Especially not after their last encounter with him.
"No, this will be great," Lucius argued his voice rising excitedly. "This is a great opportunity for me to solidify my place in the community. They're going to give me a parade after this one."
"Hey, hang on," John snapped, reaching out and laying a hand on Lucius's arm. "You're not taking on Kolya and his men."
"Why not? They can't hurt me, I got the personal shield."
"They could drown you, or bury you alive or burn the town down around you," Kai pointed out, her voice emotionless.
Lucius pulled back with a concerned frown. "You've really been thinking hard about how to work around this shield," he said as though it were a surprise. "Scary," he said with a shake of his head.
"Obviously somebody tipped them off that we're here," Ronon growled, holding his gun up as he stared out the window.
"Isn't he the one who shot Kai?" Lucius asked as he walked towards Sheppard. "Tried to take Atlantis, captured all of you and lost you a ZPM?" Lucius shrugged. "You should shoot him."
John's whole body was locked down as Lucius listed off his history with Kolya as though he were entitled to it. However Lucius had missed the most recent and most personal encounter.
John's expression looked calm, but Kai could feel the rage building like a pressure system against the Bond. She couldn't imagine the depth of his feelings for her to feel them so strongly with the Bond closed down so tightly. Her head snapped towards John just as he cocked his gun.
"Good idea," he agreed and he strode towards the door.
But Kai was already moving. "John."
"Just Kolya," John assured her. His eyes were bright and determined. Kai recognized the look and knew it was going to take a lot to talk him down.
"The shooting wil not stop with him," Kai warned.
"She's right, we'll have to kill them all," Ronon called. "Which I'm fine with, by the way," he added unhelpfully.
The look on John's face said he didn't mind either. He took another step towards the door and Kai shifted, stepping in front of him.
John couldn't think past the pounding in his ears. He had missed so many chances to kill Kolya and it nearly cost him everything. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
"Good, let's do it," John agreed, his voice light and jovial in a way that he only managed when he had become truly dangerous.
"John," Kai said his name, but he still wouldn't look at her. He was looking over her towards the door and beyond. Kolya.
"You can't!" Teyla argued, coming up to stand in front of the door.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure I can," John argued.
"If we engage in open fire with them many of the townspeople will be killed, they do not deserve to die because of us," Teyla continued.
John pulled back but shook his head. He wasn't letting this go. It was between him and Kolya.
Teyla wasn't getting through to him and Kai was getting desperate. She had felt John's patience fraying all day, dealing with Lucius had brought him to the edge, but Kolya's presence had pushed him over. John wasn't thinking straight. He was risking everything for a shot to kill Kolya.
Kai wanted Kolya dead for what he had done for John, but not at the expense of the townspeople and the team. She would find Kolya herself, she was sure of it. But John wouldn't be able to live with himself if he got a group of innocents killed for his vengeance. He wasn't going to hear her however. John took another step towards the door, reaching around Kai to grab the handle. He would step out that door and the entire squad of Genii would gun him down. She couldn't lose him to this. Not to Kolya.
"John," Kai said his name again and at the same moment she threw the Bond wide open between them. She dropped every last one of her walls, letting her emotions flood the space between them. She shoved everything she felt for John into the space she knew belonged to him. Then, with tremendous effort, she jerked it all back, snapping the Bond shut.
John sucked in a breath and jerked as though he had been struck.
"Colonel?" Teyla asked warily, her eyes going back and forth between Sheppard and Kai.
John's eyes dropped to Kai, there was shock in his gaze. "I can't believe you just did that," he snapped.
John's anger didn't lessen, although he had stopped long enough to think, but instead it morphed into something that felt a little like hurt. Kai pulled back in horror, knowing she had overstepped and made a mistake.
Teyla looked back and forth between them, not fully understanding what had happened. "If they search the town and cannot find us they will simply move on," Teyla said fiercely.
"Nobody gets hurt, that's my vote and my heartfelt recommendation," Carson said.
John turned to look at Carson. "You wanna hide?" he asked in disbelief. His eyes went back to Kai. "You want me to hide from him?" John demanded.
"Well, we could call it strategic concealment," McKay said hopefully.
"I got just the place," Lucius said.
"I'm sure you do," John grumbled.
"Here," Lucius said and he moved to a clock on the wall, adjusted the hands and the wall swung open behind it revealing a small room. "See, I like to entertain, but on occasion a husband will get angry, come looking for his wife, so to avoid an awkward scenario-" Lucius dragged off motioning to the hidden room.
"Okay, we get it," John said and he jerked his chin, encouraging the others to go into the room ahead of him. Kai was last and he started to follow her.
"I'll let you know when the bad guys clear out," Lucius called after them.
John stopped the wall from closing and leaned towards Lucius. "Don't screw around Lucius, tell them we've moved on. Once they get out of town and are out in the open we'll deal with it ourselves. This is no time to be a hero, understand?"
"Perfectly," Lucius agreed.
"I'm serious," John said. "You can't handle Kolya."
"I can see that," Lucius agreed, "no heroics." and he closed the wall behind them.
"Are we really trusting him?" Ronon asked.
"No," John said grimly and he opened the false wall and led the team upstairs where they could see all of the town square from one of the windows. They watched as Lucius did exactly what Sheppard had warned him not to do. The confrontation was short and soon Kolya's men had Lucius bent over a rain barrel of water as they tried to torture their location out of him.
He gave in easily.
"Kolya figured out your trick," John called to Kai. He was beyond pissed at her, but he wasn't going to make things awkward. They needed to all work together to get through this. "Drowning would have worked. And it didn't take too long," he said as Kolya and his men followed Lucius out of sight. John turned back to the team. "All right let's get out of this town and set up an ambush without all these people around."
"What about Lucius?" Teyla asked.
"What about him?" Kai shot back.
Teyla lifted a stern brown. "He is in danger because of our presence."
"I'm not going to risk our lives for Lucius," John retorted as they crept out the back door. The back alley looked clear but he didn't trust things to be as they appeared with Kolya around.
"He knows too much about us to be left in their hands," Teyla pointed out.
John grumbled under his breath. "Fine, I'll get him, you guys take position around the square in case things turn bad."
><><
Sheppard waited until the Genii slipped out of the tavern and appeared. "Lucius," he said from behind him.
Lucius swung around in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"Kolya's got all of the exits out of town covered, and rumor has it they were going to bury you alive," he said. He swept the room, but it was completely empty. It didn't make sense.
"I can't believe it, you came to save me!" Lucius exclaimed.
"Well, neither can I. Look, burying you alive was Kai's idea first, she would be upset if she didn't get first crack at it. Let's go," John said jerking his chin towards the back door. He didn't like this. It felt like a trap.
"Oh I can't, I'm tied to this chair," Lucius said.
John crouched down to get a look at the knots and froze as he saw a bundle of dynamite strapped around the table leg. "Oh no!" John exclaimed, shoving himself to his feet. "Good luck with that shield!" he called, patting Lucius on the chest as he ran for the back. The blast caught him before he was out the door and it threw him across the alley. He rolled across the cobblestones with a grunt.
John grimaced as he climbed to his feet. The blast had brought his team out of hiding and he watched as they were taken captive. Ronon, Teyla, Rodney and Carson were all dragged into the center of the square. He didn't see Kai and he hoped she managed to avoid capture.
"Where is Sheppard?" Kolya demanded loudly.
"He got away," one of his subordinates reported.
"And the Mortii? It must be around here somewhere!"
Without waiting to hear what else was said, Sheppard turned and fled back deeper into town. If Kai managed to escape he had no doubt she would find him. The best thing he could do was keep moving and avoid detection.
John headed towards the gate. It was harder to conceal himself in broad daylight, but if the Genii were focused on securing his team, he would have a small window to get to the gate and call for help. He crept through the woods, taking the small path Ronon had found earlier. He approached the clearing and was about to step towards the gate when he heard a crack of a stick. He whirled towards the noise with his gun raised.
"Don't, don't," Lucius said holding his hands up. "I swear I didn't know about the bomb. I didn't know what those guys were doing under the table."
Sheppard let out an exasperated sigh. "How in the hell did you get out here?" he demanded. It had taken all of his skill to avoid detection and clearly Lucius wasn't great at concealment.
"Everybody's looking for you, I just walked out unnoticed. Isn't that something? So, what are we gonna do?"
"What are we gonna do? I'll tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna get by Kolya's men so I can get to the gate and call for reinforcements from Atlantis.
"Reinforcements?" Lucius spat out the word. "What do you say we just get off this planet."
"My team is back there and Kai is still here. She won't have gone far," Sheppard said.
"Kai? Haven't seen her," Lucius said dismissively. "She could be hiding out, saving her skin."
"She isn't like that," John said. "She'll get herself clear and come find us."
"She wants to bury me alive just like that guy back there,"
Lucius pouted. "I say we-"
"Oh, done playing hero now are we?" John asked. "Fine, you can leave as soon as we get to the gate, just keep up," he snarled.
"You're angry aren't you-" Lucius started to say.
"Shut up," John snapped. Angry didn't begin to cover it, between Lucius, Kolya, and feeling betrayed by Kai's use of the Bond to stop him he wasn't in the mood to talk about his feelings.
They closed in on the gate. As they approached there was a subtle shift in the woods around them and Kai stepped out of the shadows.
"Kai," John said. His relief at finding her evident in his voice.
"They have the others," she told them unnecessarily and the jerked her chin towards the gate. "And they have ten men guarding the gate." She looked over John and Lucius. "What took you so long?"
"Excuse me," John snapped. "Not all of us are intergalactic super assassins who can just become shadows and sneak around."
"He's really angry," Lucius told Kai as though she couldn't see the temper snapping away in John's eyes. "Isn't this just the worst day you could imagine?" Lucius continued.
"Colonel Sheppard," their radios activated and Kolya's voice came through. "I'm going to assume you can hear me. I'm also going to assume that if you haven't reached the gate by now, you soon will, so I wanna save you some trouble. My men have secured the gate, there's no way you are getting through. Come back and face me Colonel, or I'll start killing your friends. Which one of them shall we kill first? I'm leaning towards Doctor McKay myself. Colonel?"
John let out an exhausted sigh. He hated to admit that he had been outmaneuvered by Kolya again, but with his team as hostages there wasn't much he could do. "Kolya this is Sheppard I'm coming back."
"Make sure to keep a leash on your little Mortii. I don't want to see it anywhere in town causing problems," Kolya snapped.
The three of them turned and began heading back towards town.
"He really doesn't like you," Lucius said.
"It's a trap," Kai said unnecessarily.
"I thought he said you weren't supposed to be there," Lucius said, pointing at Kai.
"Try to stop me," she challenged. "I have just as much of a reason to want Kolya dead as anybody else."
"Yeah, why is that?" Lucius asked.
Kai stopped for a second. She lifted her gaze to meet Lucius's. "He made me watch while he let a Wraith feed on Sheppard. Over and over again."
Completely ignoring Kai's intense anger he swung back to face John. "You survived a wraith feeding on you?" Lucius exclaimed. "That's incredible. How'd you do it? Why don't you look old?" Lucius began peppering John with questions.
John whirled on Lucius and held his finger up in his face. "I better not hear of you using that story to get laid."
Lucius held up his hands in surrender.
"Let's go," John said. He wanted to look at Kai, to comfort her, to do something knowing the memories of what Kolya had done were haunting her, but he couldn't. They only had so much time. "I have a plan," he told them.
><><